be the rain

Be the river as it rolls along
"toxic waste dumpin' from corporate farms"

Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker went crying to his sugar daddies the corporate billionaire Koch Bros because a "liberal activist" judge in Wisconsin upheld the Constitution and wiped out all his anti-collective bargaining "laws"....

By SCOTT BAUER
Associated Press

MADISON, Wis. — A Wisconsin judge on Friday struck down nearly all of the state law championed by Gov. Scott Walker that effectively ended collective bargaining rights for most public workers.

Walker's administration immediately vowed to appeal, while unions, which have vigorously fought the law, declared victory. But what the ruling meant for existing public contracts was murky: Unions claimed the ruling meant they could negotiate again, but Walker could seek to keep the law in effect while the legal drama plays out.

The law, Walker's crowning achievement that made him a national conservative star, took away nearly all collective bargaining rights from most workers and has been in effect for more than a year.

Dane County Circuit Judge Juan Colas ruled that the law violates both the state and U.S. Constitution and is null and void. He said the law violated the constitutional rights of free speech and association.

In his 27-page ruling, the judge said sections of the law "single out and encumber the rights of those employees who choose union membership and representation solely because of that association and therefore infringe upon the rights of free speech and association guaranteed by both the Wisconsin and United States Constitutions."

Colas also said the law violates the equal protection clause by creating separate classes of workers who are treated differently and unequally.

The ruling applies to all local public workers affected by the law, including teachers and city and county government employees, but not those who work for the state. They were not a party to the lawsuit, which was brought by a Madison teachers union and a Milwaukee public workers union.

Chick fil A likesWalmart

Chick-fil-A wants to open a restaurant in Greendale - its second in Wisconsin.

The growing, Atlanta-based chicken-sandwich chain, whose president recently generated both scorn and praise over his public opposition to gay marriage, has applied for a permit to build a restaurant on an outlot of the Walmart now under construction.

Chick-fil-A would build the 5,000-square-foot restaurant at 5351 S. 76th St., across from Southridge Mall. The firm's application for a special-use permit goes before the Greendale Village Board Tuesday evening.

Privately held Chick-fil-A , with annual sales of $4.1 billion, has more than 1,615 locations in 39 states and Washington, D.C. Few are in the upper Midwest though, and the only outlet in Wisconsin is in Racine's Regency Mall.....

"attention shoppers, buy with a conscience and save"